Liar, Liar, Drown in Fire
by Demonic Fairytale
Summary: Slowly progressing AkuRoku- Trust is such a fragile thing. Years to build, seconds to break. And so easily used as a mask to hide true intentions. Only in flames will this mask be burned away, to show the truth -Will be rated M later on


"Another house burned down in Trueark Drive." Reno stated, tossing the newspaper he had been reading down onto the kitchen table, which his brother quickly snatched away, "Third one this week, still no idea who in fuck is setting these things."

"He'll make a mistake..." Axel muttered, his eyes scanning over the black and white page slowly, memorizing every word and detail, "Everyone's gotta slip up sometime, no one's perfect."

Reno shrugged, lighting up a cigarette, his eyes moving the to the window beside him to stare out at the orange sky cast by the sun, "Yea, maybe..." He replied, ending his part in the conversation there, knowing there was a good chance Axel wasn't paying him any attention anyway.

**TRUEARK DRIVE: ANOTHER HOME HIT**

**This morning the home of Allen Mirdetta and his family was set a flame by an unknown arson. The family is with only a few minor injuries, but the home was reduced to ash before the fire department could reach the structure. No evidence was found at the scene, according to several local agents, to determine who has committed this crime, and why.**

Axel set the newspaper down with a sigh sounding more frustrated than anything else. He didn't need to read the next three pages, he already knew the story. No evidence, no suspect, no witnesses, and another chance for whoever it was to destroy another home or building. That's how the story had been for two weeks, for all five houses burned to the ground. The only thing that changed was the location. Three in Trueark and two in Grevande, two places on opposite sides of the county. "Great, just great..." He said to himself as he got up from the table, leaving his breakfast, and shrugged on his black jacket over his work uniform.

"Expect me to clean it up?" Reno asked, pointing to the plate with a raised eyebrow.

"Glad you get it, Renny-boy." Axel replied, grabbing his black leather bag before heading out, allowing Reno no more say in the subject. He was late as it was, and didn't want Roxas to chew him out again.

* * *

"Axel, where in hell have you been?" Roxas demanded as the redhead walked through the class doors of the Radiant Garden Detective Agency, "I've been covering for you for the last hour, if you don't have a good excuse so help me god, I will fucking kill you!" He seethed, clearly having not had his morning 'coffee', or Chocolate Caramel Cinnamon Smoothie as it should've been called, and was on edge.

"Calm down, Rox." Axel replied calmly, checking in his I.D. at the receptionists desk, "I owe you one, I get it. I overslept."

"You owe me more like twenty!" Roxas snapped, then let his scowl soften to a simple unamused frown, "Get me my damn coffee and I'll think about letting this time go." He said, crossing his arms as he shot Axel a weak glare.

"Deal." Axel said, ruffling the younger male's blond hair as he walked past him to the small, falling apart kitchen in the back beside the interns' office. "Hey, did you read about the fire?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant as he got a cup out of the cupboard for Roxas' drink. The blond, who had of course followed his partner, nodded.

"Yea, read it this morning when I got here. Good thing no one was hurt." He stated, watching Axel prepare his coffee, "Less cinnamon." He threw into the conversation calmly, as if they weren't talking about a major crime.

"Right, right..." Axel mumbled, reducing the cinnamon he had been about to add, before getting back on the topic of fires, "So any ideas on who might be doing it? The fires, I mean." He asked, before handing Roxas his drink. The blond thought a moment, sipping the sweet chocolately coffee, before answering.

"Not in a detailed way, no. I don't have any ideas on an exact suspect..." Roxas replied calmly, leaning back against the white office wall as he glanced down at his coffee, "I mean, I have ideas of kinds of people, but nothing that would narrow it down to one or two people in this area. Or within a hundred mile radius."

"Tell me anyway. Tell me what you're thinking." Axel leaned forwards on the counter, his head rested on his hand as he looked at Roxas. The blond didn't talk much, but he was a bright guy, and was good at his job. Roxas took a deep breath and let out a sigh, watching the air create ripples in the liquid's surface within his cup.

"Well... There's always a possibility that one or two of these fires was an accident. Some stupid kid decides to play with a lighter or matches, and suddenly the house is up in flames." Roxas stated, his tone thoughtful as he thought over his words before speaking. Chances were, he was only now really considering full scale scenarios of what could have happened. "But I doubt that's the case for all of them... Gender isn't something that I really think could be identified by a crime like this, but motives could be narrowed down... Not to a small group, but to a list of around a hundred, rather than a thousand." He paused to drink his coffee, the gears turning his head visibly piecing together information, "...Whoever it is could have a resentment issue, maybe they lost someone to fire and blames the world for it. Or maybe they enjoy the thrill of knowing if one thing goes wrong, they could end up in jail, it's like a game to them... Of course, it could always be something more simple, such as someone with mental problems who has a fascination with fire." He shrugged, ending his speech and allowing Axel to get a real word in once he had thought everything over.

"Huh... That makes sense, actually..." Axel mumbled, more to himself than anything, thinking over what the blond had said. It fit, the reasons and possibilities of the actions, and nothing was over the top on what could have happened. Of course, that was just like Roxas, to think rationally about everything when everyone else had a mind what was in full panic.

"I guess. Anyway," Roxas spoke up again, throwing his now empty cup into the trash as he started to walk out of the small room, "Let's get to work. Nothing gets done if we just stand here talking for the next ten hours."

* * *

Hey guys! This is just an 'intro piece', as I'll call it. It's not very long, but it's pretty much the shortest any of the chapters will be. The rest should end up A LOT longer, I just wanted to get this started and ready to be fully written and what not. Comments are very much appreciated, but I can't force any of you to comment. Please no flames, as they are nothing but an annoyance that proves you can't think of anything constructive to say :)


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